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R. L. LLOYD AND R. D. SIMPSON.

METHOD OF MARKING BUTTONHOLE LOCATIONS 0N SHOE FLI'ES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. B. I916.

1 25,646. Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. RICHARD I4. LLOYD, OF MINNEAFOLIS, MINNESOTA, AND ROBERT D. SIMPSON, 0F COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOES, 5 MESIETE ASSIGNMENTS, TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION. OF JL'ATEREON, ME /V JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Original application filed march 15, 1912, Serial No. 684,074.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

Divided and this application filed. February 8,

1916. Serial No. 76,949.

stock locations at which subsequent operations are to be performed, such, for example,

as marking button and buttonhole locations on the flies of shoe uppers, and the object of the invention is to provide a method which will not be subject to the objections and limitations inherent in the methods heretofore practised.

It has been customary to mark button and buttonhole locations on the upper material by piercing or indenting the upper material at the desired points, usually with prick punches or dies. However, neither piercing nor indenting the upper material has proven entirely satisfactory, for with certain upper materials, such as soft leather, cloth and canvas, the puncture or indentation quickly closes up or disappears so that when the tim arrives in sewing the button or the buttonhole to utilize the indication mark previously made by the puncture or indentation, thelatter is no longer discernible.

Ink and chalk orcrayon have also been employed for this purpose but are unsatisfactory in a large proportion of cases. When inked markers are used, it is found that the ink has a tendency to spread, particularly with cloth and canvas uppers and in consequence the appearance of the upper is frequently spoiled. When ink is used to mark the locations on leather uppers, it is not readily absorbed and is therefore easily blurred or smeared by the handling incidental to and preceding the sewing. The same is true of chalk or crayon which, obviously are easily rubbedoif and similarly, fail as accurate indications for subsequent operations. With ink, chalk and crayons, the marking medium employed must be of a color contrasting with that of the upper material, and as this color varies, both with leather and cloth uppers and particularly with cloth, much time, in the aggregate, is lost in selecting the proper color of markingmedium.

In one aspect our invention consists in designating upon one or more parts of a boot or shoe the location or locations at which subsequent operations are to be performed by so cauterizing the surface of such part or parts at such points as to give dry indelible location marks without substantially weakening the substance of the upper at such points, and in the novel step product in the art of making shoes resulting from the practic of said method.

In another aspect, the invention comprises that step in the manufacture of boots and shoes which consists in designating the locations of the buttonholes on the buttonhole fly of the boot or shoe upper for the subsequent making of buttonholes-by so cauterizing the surface of the fly as to form a series of appropriately spaced dry, indelible, short thin lines having the same position and angular relation to the edge of the fly as the buttonholes, and leaving the shoe fly stock of substantially undiminished stitchholding strength.

In a preferred manner of practising our method, the indication marks are placed upon the surface of the upper material by cauterizing or searing the surface of the material by a marking medium formed to provide thin linear seared marks having the same position and angular relation tov the fly as the buttonholes and thereafter, while the buttonholes are being made, these position indicating lines are utilized as guides.

' It is an important characteristic of this in vention that the searing or cauterizing action, by which the marking of the location at or closely adjacent to which the subsequent operation is to be performed, as for example, where the buttons are to be attached or the buttonholes slit and sewed, is carefully gaged to terminate before the cauterizing heat has substantially impaired the strength of the upper material to hold the button attaching or the buttonhole binding stitches. This is quite as important in marking buttonhole locations as in marking button locations because it will be understood that the button and hole sewing operations are carried on commercially by very rapidly operated machines and the operators use the location marks as a guide relative to which, but not necessarily at which, to cause the sewing machine to operate. It is commercially satisfactory and more expeditious if the button or the hole is located adjacent to but not fully covering the mark provided a disfiguring mark is avoided. Clearly therefore it is important that the cauterizing action must not be allowed to continue long enough or with such intensity as to impair substantially the capacity of the upper material to hold firmly the button attaching or the buttonhole binding stitches which may pass through or closely adjacent to the mark formed by cauterizing the surface of the upper. Such treatment will produce dry permanent indication marks contrasting with the adjacent surface of whatever material is operated upon, and does not appreciably impair the holding strength of the upper material or necessitate the application of extraneous marking material to the upper. This treatment is to be distinguished from the ordinary practice of pyrography in which th cauterizing action is sufficiently prolonged or of such intensity as substantially to impair the strength of the material at the cauterized points.

Our method of marking the buttonhole locations is entirely independent of the specific form of electrically heated apparatus employed. One form of electrically heated marking apparatus which may be employed is illustrated and described in United States Letters Patent No. 1,198,462, issued Sept. 19, 1916, on our application for machine for marking buttonhole flies. Serial No. 684,074, filed March 15, 1912, of which this present application constitutes a division. Accordingly, to illustrate the practice of the method described and claimed herein we have illustrated in the accompanying drawings electrically heated buttonhole marking devices of the type disclosed in our application aforesaid.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 illustrates, diagrammatically, a series of pairs of electrically heated buttonhole marking units arranged for relative movement to mark a buttonhole fly inserted therebetween.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View of a single marking unit taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a buttonhole fly marked by such a series of marking units.

The marking apparatus may comprise a series 'of. marking units in the form of blocks 2 (Fig. 2) mounted upon a suitable guide and support for relative movement to vary their spacing. The front face of the blocks will be recessed as at 4, forming spaced upper and lower faces. Upon the upper faces of the blocks are fixedly mounted a series of plates 6 of insulating material. The lower faces of the blocks carry a series of plates 8 of insulating material vertically slotted as shown in Fig. 1, and guided for vertical movement toward the upper blocks by spaced headed studs 10 extending through into the blocks 2. A common operating member for the series of blocks 8, such as a bar 12 (Fig. 2) may extend beneath and against their lower edges and is arranged for vertical movement to move the series of blocks 8 vertically upward toward the series of upper fixed blocks 6.

Each of the upper and lower series of blocks 6 and 8 may carry an electrically heated marking element. In the form illus trated a ribbon of metal is formed with opposed strands having a series of opposed V- shaped portions 14 connected by resilient spacing loops 16. The V-shaped portions are secured to their blocks by insulated studs 15 and provide marking faces at their outer ends to engage the shoe upper material and will be of a construction and material which may be heated to a red heat by the passage of an electric current therethrough and when brought into engagement with the upper material will sear the surface of the material to form a series of short, thin indication lines. In the apparatus illustrated, and in the preferred practice of our method, the edge of the buttonhole fly will be so positioned relatively to the markers that the series of short indication lines will extend substantially perpendicularly to the edge of the fly.

The terminals of th strands of the ribbon may be joined at the ends of the series of units to form) flexible end-connecting loops l8 and 20. Electric current may be supplied to the strands of the ribbon to heat the V-shaped marking portions 14 in any suitable manner. In the drawings, the end loop 18 is shown as connected by a conductor 22 with one side of a rheostat 24, a conductor 26 leading from the opposite side of the rheostat to on contact of a switch 28. The opposite end loop 20 is connected to the complemental contact of the switch by conductor 30 and conductors 32 and 34 lead from opposite sides of the switch lever to opposite sides of a suitable source of current supply designated at 36.

In practising the method of our invention with the assistance of the apparatus hereinabove described a sufiicient current is passed through the ribbon to heat the V- shaped marking portions 14 to at least a red heat. A fly is then inserted between the upper and lower series of markers and supported with its edge in proper position rel atively to the marking points. The bar 12 is then moved upwardly to move the lower series of plates 8 with their marking phints up wardly to engage the fly between the upper and lower series of markers after which the bar and plates 8 are retracted. Obviously, the period of contact will he very short so as not to prolong the cauterizing action sufiiciently to impair substantially the holding strength of the material at the cauterized points. The fly, such as shown at 38, Fig. 3, will be provided with a series of spaced short, thin lines 40 designatingthe buttonhole locations. The appearance of t 1e shoe upper material will be materially changed at the points engaged by the heated markers because of the cauterization so that the lines made by the markers will contrast in color with the adjacent surface of any shoe upper material.

The heat point of the markers may be substantially varied and the appearance of the markers may vary from a relatively dull red heat to a very bright red and if necessary white heat. The cauterizing point for different shoe upper materials will vary and the markers will accordingly vary in the degree of luminous glow.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That step in the method of making boots and shoes which consists in designating upon one or more of the parts of a boot or shoe the location or locations at which subsequent operations are to be performed by eauterizing the surface of such part at such points to form dry, indelible marks, the cauterizing action being terminated before the substance of the part or parts is substantially weakened by the cauterizing action.

2. That step in the method of making boots and shoes which consists in designating the locations of the buttonholes on the huttonhole fly of the boot or shoe upper for the subsequent making of buttonholes by cauterizing the surface of the upper material to form a series of appropriately spaced dry indelible, short thin lines having the same position and angular relation to the edge of the fiy as the buttonhole, the cauterizing action being terminated before it has progressed far enough to impair the stitch-holding strength of the cauterized portion of the upper.

3. A step product in the art of making shoes consisting of a shoe fly having appropriately small cauterized areas marked thereon leaving the shoe fly stock of substantially undiminished stitch-holding strength, the marks being so located with relation to each other and to the edge of the fiy as to serve as guides for an operative in sewing buttons or buttonholes.

4:. A step product in the art of making shoes consisting of a shoe upper part having one or more appropriately small cauterized areas so marked thereon as to leave the marked portions of the shoe part of substantially undiminished stitch-holding strength, the marks being so located with relation to the edge of the shoe part as to serve as guides for an operative in performing a subsequent operation upon the shoe part.

In testimony whereof I, the said RICHARD L. LLOYD, have signed my name to this specification.

RICHARD L. LLOYD.

In testimony whereof I, the said ROBERT D. SIMPSON, have slgned my name to this snecificatlon.

ROBERT D. SIMPSON. 

